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Reflexology: Tracking Energy from Head to Toe
Though reflexology shares much in common with acupuncture, it has its own unique properties and origins. Read on to learn more about the practice.
In the early 20th century, you might have been able to identify patients coming from a reflexology appointment by the clothespins on their fingertips. Today?s reflexologists generally carry out their treatments by hand in a wellness clinic or a massage studio, but the principle remains the same: apply pressure to specific points on the hands, feet, or ears, prompting responses in organs throughout the body.
Similar to acupuncture and acupressure, the practice posits that energy pathways run throughout the body. Reflexology?s system, however, is a bit simpler than Chinese medicine?s complex map of meridians. Envision vertical lines running from each toe up through the leg, joining lines running from each finger up the arm toward the neck and coming together in the head, and you have the body divided into 10 attractively slimming reflexology zones. Within each zone on the palm or?most common in reflexology sessions today?the sole, certain pressure points are thought to correspond to organs, joints, or other tissues elsewhere in the same zone.
Dr. William Fitzgerald?originator of the clothespin technique?began practicing what he called ?zone therapy? in 1915. While research has yet to find a concrete link between modern medical thought and the millennia-old idea of imperceptible bodily energy, that doesn't mean reflexology can't be relaxing. Patients can expect the benefits of a treatment to include at least those of a good foot massage: increased circulation, relieved muscle tension, and decreased stress and susceptibility to tickle attacks. Even early proponents of the technique accepted that results might vary from person to person. Writing in 1928, physician Bernard Lust was content with claiming that ?the adoption of the method is attended with absolutely no danger or disagreeable results, and may be the means of lengthening short lives and making good health catching.?

At Nirvana Reflexology Spa, a team of certified reflexologists uses the ancient therapy to relieve ailments and reduce toxins. During reflexology treatments, pressure is applied to specific areas of the feet and hands that are believed to line up with many of the body's internal organs. The treatment, aside from inducing general feelings of relaxation and
well-being, has been shown to positively impact everything from
migraines and back pain to insomnia and anxiety. For additional soothing, the therapists also administer an herbal tea bath for the feet, since coffee can often leave toes jumpy, and they also work out tension in the neck and scalp, adjusting pressure to each client's comfort level.

The therapists at Masso the Art of Healing in Clarksburg don't just customize their services to each client's needs—they also assist them with plans for continuing their therapy at home. All of this is in service to their goal of helping clients reach a lasting state of relaxation without having to spend a week locked in the cotton-ball closet. Though they specialize in easing muscular tension with Swedish massage, Masso's therapists also perform more than a dozen other body services—ranging from Russian massage to craniosacral therapy to body scrubs. Additionally, they get kinks out of connective tissue with myofascial release, and cater to the relaxation needs of expectant mothers with prenatal massage.

Just as a translator can seamlessly slip from language to language, licensed massage therapist Mary Ann Zenter can effortlessly shift through various massage techniques, tailoring her treatments to meet each individual's needs. She can loosen muscles with broad, soothing strokes that dissolve general tension, or employ methods such as cross-fiber frictioning and compression to work out deep-seated pain. Patients can also request reflexology sessions, which work to boost overall health.

Even when they're not at the salon, Cahra owners Jhonny Davila and Teresa Reed are changing the hair game. The stylists have led seminars at various hair events, including demos of Inoar keratin blowouts. By staying so connected to the industry, they can continue to upgrade their treatments back at Cahra, where they and their team perform customized services such as precision cuts, coloring, extensions, and updos, and provide custom treatments using K?rastase and Bumble and bumble products.
Hair is just one area of the Cahra staff's expertise, however. In the spa, aestheticians cleanse skin with more than a dozen types of treatments, featuring skincare products by G.M. Collin and Caudalie, including glycolic peels and four-layer facials. Massage therapists can dissolve tension with Swedish, deep-tissue, or prenatal massage, while nail technicians soothe hands and feet with traditional and spa mani-pedis. Recently, they introduced In the Mood polishes that change hue throughout the day, or whenever the wearer puts their fingers in a glass of milk.

Seven days a week, the technicians at Ace Foot Spa One bring balance back to bodies thrown off course by stress, injuries, and fatigue. The methods they use fit squarely in the category of Eastern alternative medicine. Sessions of reflexology, an ancient treatment based on the idea that pressure points on the feet are directly connected to specific areas across the body, helps increase clients' energy levels. Chinese acupressure relies on methods similar to those of reflexology, except the practitioner applies pressure to the body, not the feet. The purpose is to alleviate tension and unblock energy that has been trapped in the limbs or stalled in a traffic jam on its way back from a Bon Jovi concert in the spleen.